Fin & Veg

Small Batch Focaccia (Perfect for 2 People)

This small batch focaccia is ideal when you want fresh, bakery-style bread without a huge pan of leftovers. It’s fluffy inside, crisp and golden on the outside, and topped with plenty of olive oil and flaky salt. The dough is very forgiving, uses simple pantry ingredients, and can be made in an afternoon—no special equipment or advanced bread skills required.

Ingredients (for an 8×8 inch pan or similar small dish)

  • Starter:
    • 2/3 heaping cups Bread flour (100gr)
    • 4 oz + 3 full tbsp +1 tsp Cold water (100gr)
    • 1/4 tsp yeast
    • 1 tsp honey or sugar
  • Dough:
    • All the starter
    • 1/4 full cup + 1 full tbsp+ 1 full tsp bread flour (50gr)
    • 2 full tbsp water (20gr) room temp
    • 1/2 heaping tsp salt (5gr)
    • 1 full tbsp EVO oil plus some more to grease your hands when doing stretch and folds
  • Additional:
    • Metal Loaf pan 9×5 inches
    • Parchment paper
    • EVO oil
    • Flaky salt
    • Fresh rosemary (optional)

Step-by-step instructions for home bakers

  1. The day before, make starter simply by mixing bread flour, cold water, yeast, and honey. Cover and let rest on the countertop (preferably in a warm spot) for about 5-6 hours. Then place in the fridge for the rest of the night.
  2. The day after:
  3. Using a fork or your hands,  mix in the cold starter, the rest of the flour, water, and salt.
  4. NO KNEADING required, just mix it a little.
  5. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
  6. Do 1 stretch and folds: grab the dough stretching it out and then fold towards the center (check my highlights “focaccia tutorial” to see how I do it, it’s very simply, I promise). Do this until the dough start to be resistant when pulling. Flip seaside down, shape into a ball and place the dough in the pan covered with parchment paper (make sure to grease the sides with some EVO oil) that are not covered from the parchment paper, so the dough and let rest the dough for 1.5-2 hours in a warm place.
  7. Preheat oven at 400°F and bake for 25-30 minutes.
  8. In the meantime, grease your hands and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on the dough and dimple (make the “holes” with the tip of your fingers). Sprinkle some flaky salt. 
  9. Take it out, add the rosemary (trying to insert in the dimples) and bake for 2 minutes. Take it out and place it on an oven rack. Let cool 5-10 minutes and then serve!